Recent community discussions in Ames revealed a pressing need to ban DEI-related programs and policies statewide. Business and civic leaders widely agree that DEI efforts often backfire—they waste resources, complicate operations, and, ironically, harm the very minorities they aim to help.
Half measures that exempt certain entities from DEI mandates only leave leaders caught between conflicting laws and the demands of an increasingly vocal ideological agenda. Ames Mayor John Haifa’s remark about a “label change” with no substantive shift in DEI hiring practices reflects this futile balancing act. The same divisive policies persist, just rebranded.
Activists in schools, government, and public institutions have pledged to continue pushing their DEI agendas, often against public consensus and even legal restrictions. This dogged insistence fuels workplace tension, undermines fairness, and disrupts efficiency.
Now is the time for bold action. A comprehensive ban on DEI initiatives would eliminate these challenges and pave the way for a truly colorblind society—the very vision Martin Luther King Jr. championed. Let’s seize this opportunity to make it a reality.
Boone
